Region

Russia

Stories under this heading cover Russia, as well as countries in the eastern part of the European continent, such as Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova.

Kazakhstan to launch customs monitoring to avoid circumventing Russia sanctions

Kazakhstan has announced that it will launch an online system that will track all goods crossing its borders from 1 April in an attempt to demonstrate that it is complying with Western sanctions on Russia.

patrickn97 Fri, 03/24/2023 - 11:15 Russia begins deploying Stalin-era tanks to Ukraine after "significant armored vehicle losses"

Open source intelligence (OSINT) groups are reporting that Russia has begun to deploy Stalin-era tanks to Ukraine after reportedly suffering "significant armoured vehicle losses".

After receiving photographs of a train transporting tanks in Russia's Far East to the west, the Georgia-based OSINT group Conflict Intelligence Team has identified them as T-54 and T-55 tanks. Although Russia's use of the later T-62 tank has been previously reported, this is the first recorded instance of Russia deploying even older tanks, they report.

patrickn97 Thu, 03/23/2023 - 10:26

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Russian warship holds military drills in Norwegian Sea

A Russian warship has conducted military exercises with hypersonic weapons in the Norwegian Sea, located between Norway and Greenland. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, they simulated air strikes with hypersonic cruise missiles.

“The crew... conducted an exercise to repel the means of an air attack of a simulated enemy in the Norwegian Sea.”, the Ministry said.

Maximiliaan va… Tue, 01/10/2023 - 12:37
Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas in the shadow of the Ukraine-Russia War
Orthodox Christians all over the world on Saturday (7 January) celebrate Christmas in accordance with the Julian Calander. On the eve, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill delivered a Christmas service in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, and the scene was repeated in Christian Orthodox Churches across Eastern Europe and the Middle East and world wide. This Christmas however sees the Orthodox world in conflict with itself as the Ukraine-Russia War rages on. In the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Ukrainians ventured out into a light dusting of snow to buy gifts, cakes and groceries for Christmas Eve family celebrations.  In a video message, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Ukrainians as “united as never before” and lamented that the conflict has forced many to abandon Christmas folk traditions that prohibit sewing and hunting. “It is forbidden to sew and knit, but we weave camouflage nets and sew bulletproof vests, overcoming evil. Our ancestors did not go hunting in these days, but we fight so that we do not become prey and to defeat the beast,” he said. Putin attended services at the Annunciation Cathedral, one of several churches on the grounds of the Kremlin.
dennis2020 Sat, 01/07/2023 - 07:06
Putin orders Orthodox Christmas ceasefire, rejected by Ukraine
Following an appeal from Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 36-hour ceasefire along the front line in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas. Scheduled to begin on Friday at 12pm Moscow time, the ceasefire ordered by Putin was quickly rejected by the Ukrainians. The Ukrainian presidential advisor Mikhailo Podolyak responded by saying that "[The Russian Federation] must leave the occupied territories - only then will it have a 'temporary truce'". He added that Russia should "keep hypocrisy to yourself". Over the New Year celebrations, Russia launched one of its biggest drone attacks on critical infrastructure and main population centres in Ukraine since the start of its full-scale war. Ukraine says that it successfully destroyed all 84 of the drones that Russia launched over the New Year period. Patriarch Kirill had asked "all the parties involved" in the conflict to "cease fire and establish a Christmas truce". A subsequent statement by the Kremlin read: "Taking into consideration the appeal by [Kirill], the president hereby instructs the minister of defence of the Russian Federation to impose a ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact in Ukraine", ending at midnight on Sunday.
patrickn97 Thu, 01/05/2023 - 18:13
Ukraine shoots down almost 500 Iranian drones since September amid warnings of further attacks

The Ukrainian Armed Forces have shot down almost 500 Iranian drones since September, the spokesman of the Ukrainian Air Force announced on Tuesday (3 January).

Speaking during a television interview, Yurii Ihnat added that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had also destroyed all 84 drones launched by Russia during the massive drone attack over the New Year holidays.

patrickn97 Tue, 01/03/2023 - 14:37
Editor's choice
Analysis
Under the Pall of War: Implications of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine for Peace Processes in the South Caucasus

Under the Pall of War: Implications of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine for Peace Processes in the South Caucasus

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shattered Europe’s security architecture, with far-reaching and unpredictable implications for conflicts in neighbouring regions where Russia plays a role. This discussion paper, just published by Conciliation Resources, focuses on the impacts of war in Ukraine on the peace processes of the South Caucasus, a region fractured by protracted conflicts dating back to the 1990s.